Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 78576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Finally, she nods. “Absolutely. It’s a gift, and instead of bothering you about it, I should be thanking you.” She grabs my hands and gives each of them a gentle squeeze. “So thank you, Dave. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
“I will ring you up at the cash register,” the jeweler says. “This will be on a credit card, I assume?”
I nod and pull out my American Express Platinum. The jeweler takes the card, runs the transaction, and then places the necklace in a black velvet box with the jewelry shop’s logo on it.
“I think I’d like to wear it,” Maddie says.
“Absolutely.” I take the box from her.
She pulls her hair up behind her neck, and I clasp the chain, my fingers grazing her soft skin.
She turns around, modeling it for me. “What do you think?”
My God, it’s like the piece was crafted for Madeline Pike. Not only do the colors accentuate her features beautifully, but the necklace just… It matches her spirit. The pearl at the center was once just an unassuming grain of sand until it ended up by chance in the right oyster, which then turned it over time into a thing of great beauty.
Like the pearl, Maddie and I have been through a lot in the past few days, and we’ve got a lot ahead of us, too. But everything that we go through only serves to bring out our most beautiful selves. The pearl doesn’t realize how beautiful it is for its trouble, and neither does Maddie.
Of course, she’s a thousand times more beautiful than any pearl.
The sapphire and rubies sparkle around the pearl, and the light bounces off them onto it, blending into a light lavender. The gold chain brings the whole thing together.
I realize that my mouth is wide open. I close it before speaking.
“It was made for you. It’s perfect. The chain brings out the gold flecks in your eyes.”
“I have gold flecks in my eyes?”
I smile. “Yeah. You didn’t know that?”
She purses her lips. “I just thought they were plain brown. Callie’s are way prettier than mine. She has that light amber color.”
“Your eyes are perfect just the way they are, Madeline Pike.” I brush my lips over hers and then turn back to the jeweler. “Thank you.”
“Je vous en prie. Have a lovely day in Paris with your lady.”
I could tell the jeweler that we’re not officially together—at least not yet. But I don’t. I like the idea of Maddie being my lady. Without a word, I offer her my arm and escort her back onto the bustling streets of the Champs-Élysées.
By now, our breakfast has worn off. “Let’s find a café and have a quick bite,” I say. “Then it’s back to the hotel to pack, and then to the airport.”
My skin prickles as I say the word airport. I’m not looking forward to getting on a plane.
Chapter Fourteen
Maddie
Brianna and I sit at the airport at our gate, neither of us saying a word.
Brock and Dave sit across from us, also not speaking.
Finally Brock opens his mouth. “This is a huge aircraft, just like the one we flew out on. It’s not a small chartered plane flying over the choppy English Channel.”
Is that supposed to make us feel better? Instead we’ll be flying over the Atlantic Ocean, which is way bigger than the Channel.
Brianna grips her cell phone. “I need to talk to Jesse.”
“He’s in rehearsal,” Brock says. “Besides, you just talked to him an hour ago.”
She gulps audibly. “I know.”
“Look,” Brock says, “we all have to just get a grip. We are safer in the air than in a car. We all know that. And besides, our plane didn’t crash. We lived.”
“Is Rory okay?” Brianna asks.
“She is. She was pretty shaken up,” Brock says, “but we all were. We had a few days to recoup. None of us thought we would be getting on a plane this soon.”
I close my eyes. “The first thing I said when we got off the plane was that I was never setting foot on an airplane again.”
“How did you think you’d get home after the tour?” Brock asks.
“Honestly, I wasn’t thinking that far ahead. I thought I had a couple of months to figure that out. And maybe I’d be over my fear of flying by then.”
Brock chuckles. “I suppose there’s always an ocean liner.”
Maddie rolls her eyes. “Very funny.”
“Do you think they give out tranquilizers in the first-class cabin?” Brianna asks.
And I honestly can’t tell if she’s joking or not.
“Everything’s going to be okay, Bree,” Dave says. “I don’t want either of you to worry.”
Dave and I have been intimate, and Brock and Brianna are engaged to two of my siblings. Plus Brianna and I have been friends for years.
Still, I feel like the odd one out here.
Again.
I’m getting on a plane with three Steel cousins, and I’m flying first class again, on their dime.